Items Similar to Street Singers (Ukiyobushi), Shamisen Player and Singer
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 2
Takahashi Hiroaki (Shotei)Street Singers (Ukiyobushi), Shamisen Player and Singer1936
1936
About the Item
Watanabe Shozaburo, 1936. Woodblock in colors on handmade mulberry paper, Koban 182 x 120 mm, full margins. With the Shôtei artist seal in red ink, upper right. Signed "Shotei" and titled in English on the matrix in graphite. With the "Made in Japan" export stamp and the Watanabe catalog number stamp 179, both in blue ink, on the bottom sheet edge, verso, as issued. Adhered to a card stock matrix with deckle edges, as issued. A beautiful pre-war impression of this serene and peaceful scene, good gradient inking and luminosity in the lantern. Printed by hand with cherrywood blocks.
*Marc Kahn, Shotei catalog S10; Watanabe 179
Born in Tokyo in 1871, Hiroaki Takahashi was working as an artist in an official capacity at an incredibly young age. After an early apprenticeship with his uncle, Matsumoto Fuko (who awarded the young boy the name Shôtei), Takahashi was hired by the Imperial Household Department of Foreign Affairs to copy designs for ceremonial objects.
By the age of 18, Shôtei was a co-founder of the Japan Youth Painting Society, and by 1907 he had been recruited by Shōzoburō Watanabe to produce prints for his Shin Hanga movement. The Shin Hanga or "New Print" movement served to satisfy the widespread demand in the Western world for the export of traditional Ukiyo-e prints in the style of masters like Hiroshige. Shôtei enjoyed tremendous success in this endeavor, however, it was cut devastatingly short in 1923.
On September 1st of 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake, also known as the Tokyo-Yokohama earthquake of 1923, struck the Tokyo metropolitan area without warning with a magnitude of 7.9. Up until that point in time it was the worst natural disaster recorded in the history of earthquake-prone Japan. The earthquake, which is said to have lasted up to ten mintues, caused a tsunami, a rotational wind burst with a burning core called a "fire whirl," and extensive firestorms, which quickly spread across the main island of Honshū. Watanabe's facility was reduced to ashes, and the inferno took every single woodblock with it. Lucky to have survived the devastation, Shôtei, now having added the name Hiroaki, spent the rest of his life recreating his lost woodblocks, as well as creating a handful of new designs.
There is some speculation that impressions of woodblocks with the kanja characters reading Shôtei, versus Rakutei, may indicate pre-earthquake impressions versus post-earthquake impressions, printed from a block recreated by the artist after his own design. The signature and title on this work would have been added in English by an assistant in preparation for its export to the West. Despite a persistent bit of misinformation that Shôtei died in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, he actually died of pneumonia in February of 1945, at the age of 74.
- Creator:Takahashi Hiroaki (Shotei) (1871 - 1945, Japanese)
- Creation Year:1936
- Dimensions:Height: 7.19 in (18.27 cm)Width: 4.75 in (12.07 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Middletown, NY
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2004
1stDibs seller since 2022
29 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 12 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Middletown, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 30 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Two Women Playing Sugoroku from "Comparison of the Customs of Beauties."Located in Middletown, NYA scene from a vanishing Japan. Two Women Playing Sugoroku from "Comparison of the Customs of Beauties."; The Customs and Manners of Women Japan: Matsuki Heikichi, 1891. Woodblock ...Category
Late 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Watercolor, Woodcut
- The Lonely House at Asajigahara.Located in Middletown, NYA scene from a series of ghost stories and spooky rural legends. Tokyo: Matsuki Heikichi, 1896. Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade mulberry pa...Category
Late 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
MaterialsWatercolor, Woodcut, Handmade Paper
- The Battle of Dan-no-ura in Yashima, Nagato Province in the First Year .....By Utagawa YoshitoraLocated in Middletown, NYThe Battle of Dan-no-ura in Yashima, Nagato Province in the First Year of the Bunji Era (1185) Tokyo c. 1830 Woodblock print (nishiki-e) with ink and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade mulberry paper, 14 7/16 x 9 15/16 inches (367 x 252 mm), ōban tate-e, the full sheet. In good condition with some handling creases. Colors are fresh and extremely vibrant. The right panel from the triptych by Yoshitora depicting one of Japan's most storied naval battles. An impression of this work may be found in the permanent collection of the Honolulu Museum of Art. The great naval battle of Dan-no-ura in 1185 was the final climax in a long series of bitter wars between two powerful families in feudal Japan...Category
Early 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Watercolor, Woodcut
- Toshogu ShrineLocated in Middletown, NYIn image of the Tokugawa family paying homage to Tosho-gu Shrine in Nikko. Tokyo: Matsuki Heikichi, 1896 Woodcut in ink with embossing and hand-coloring in watercolor on handmade m...Category
Late 19th Century Edo Figurative Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Watercolor, Woodcut
- A Chinese Watchman, from The Costume of China, by G.H. Mason, engr. John DadleyLocated in Middletown, NYLondon: 1799. Copperplate stipple engraving with hand coloring in watercolor, 17 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (445 x 260 mm) (sheet), full margins. In very good condition with some minor, lig...Category
Late 18th Century Old Masters Figurative Prints
MaterialsWatercolor, Handmade Paper, Engraving
- The Monument of London in Remembrance of the Dreadful Fire of 1666Located in Middletown, NYBowles, Thomas III (after John Donowell) John Bowles & Richard Wilkinson, 1751. Steel engraving with extensive hand coloring in watercolor on cream wove paper, 10 1/4 x 16 inches (...Category
Mid-18th Century English School Landscape Prints
MaterialsWatercolor, Handmade Paper, Engraving
You May Also Like
- Women in a GardenBy Toyohara ChikanobuLocated in Austin, TXTohoyara Chikanobu "Women in a Garden" Woodcut print on Paper Tryptich totalling 13 x 29" Framed size 20 x 35" The triptych of woodcut prints features a classic scene of a garden in...Category
Late 19th Century Figurative Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Woodcut
- Sumo Wrestling TournamentBy Toyohara KunichikaLocated in Austin, TXToyohara Kunichika "Sumo Wrestling Tournament" Woodcut Print on Paper 13.5 x 28.5" Framed size 35 x 20" The print pictures an exciting scene featuring t...Category
Late 19th Century Figurative Prints
MaterialsRice Paper, Woodcut
- Apple and LemonBy Roy LichtensteinLocated in Palo Alto, CARoy Lichtenstein Apple and Lemon, 1983 is an excellent example of the artist’s later work. Lichtenstein largely abandoned his famous comic strip pan...Category
1980s Pop Art Still-life Prints
MaterialsHandmade Paper, Woodcut
- Utagawa Kunisada III (1848-1920) Ukiyo-E Woodblock Print "Portrait Of Samurai"By Utagawa Kunisada IIILocated in New York, NYTitle: Portrait Of Samurai Medium: Woodblock Print Style: Ukiyo-e Size: 13 1/2"" x 9 1/2"" Frame Size: 18 1/2"" x 14 1/2"" Signature: Kunisada Provenance: Collection from E...Category
Early 20th Century Other Art Style Portrait Prints
MaterialsWashi Paper, Woodcut
- The Boy Botaro and his Nurse Otsuji and a Lotus PondBy Taiso YoshitoshiLocated in Burbank, CAThe boy Bôtarô watches his nurse Otsuji haul a bucket of water from the well. From the kabuki play Osanago no adauchi. Most interesting is the lush backdrop of lotus flowers and pump...Category
1880s Other Art Style Figurative Prints
MaterialsMulberry Paper, Woodcut
- Ôkubo Hikozaemon Protects the Hidden Shogun TriptychBy Taiso YoshitoshiLocated in Burbank, CA“War Chronicles of Osaka” (Osaka gunki no uchi). Okubo Hikozaemon, raising his sword, protects the hidden Tokugawa shogun from the spear of Gorô Matabei Mototsugu in a moonlit fores...Category
1880s Other Art Style Figurative Prints
MaterialsMulberry Paper, Woodcut